


nothing could prepare me for you

by ifeelpersonallyattacked



Series: the bitter scent of lemons and your cologne [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cadets, First Meetings, Galaxy Garrison, Love at First Sight, M/M, POV Shiro (Voltron), adam is pretty and kicks ass at flight simulations and shiro is whipped, adashi month, shiro being a prodigy cadet, sorta - Freeform, the breaking of records
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 17:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19891687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifeelpersonallyattacked/pseuds/ifeelpersonallyattacked
Summary: Takashi Shirogane is used to being a prodigy, a legend, the golden boy of the Galaxy Garrison. Nothing ever changes and he's strangely okay with it.Until one day, when he meets a person and hears a name, that his whole universe changes.Written for Adashi Month 2019! Day 1: Adam W.





	nothing could prepare me for you

**Author's Note:**

> wHEW here's my first contribution for adashi month! hope y'all like it!

It was supposed to be just another day. Get up, shower, eat breakfast in the canteen, train, go to class, eat lunch, go to class, eat dinner, shower again, and then sleep. Just an ordinary day, with everything going exactly as it had the day before and the day before that. Every day like clockwork, with nothing changing. 

Shiro supposed he was fine with that. Changes to routine weren’t exactly his favorite thing. Sure, he liked excitement just as much as the next kid, but when you were training to be a fighter pilot, Earth’s best defense(and a prestigious position at that), there wasn’t much room for anything different. Besides, many of his professors and fellow cadets considered him to be some sort of a “prodigy”. The stuff of legends. Needless to say, they expected a lot out of him. 

He simply didn’t have time to screw around with his training. It was his dream to become a pilot, had been ever since he had seen an awards ceremony on TV honoring exceptional pilots at the age of four. Shiro didn’t like to consider himself as someone who didn’t like to have fun. Fun was great. But it would have to wait until after he had graduated and become the person he had always wanted to be. 

So when he came out of the gym one morning toweling off his forehead, only to be disrupted by a change in his carefully constructed routine...well, he knew he had to get to the bottom of whatever it was. 

The change came in the form of a very large amount of people standing outside the flight simulator. Normally, this wasn’t an unusual occurence. Shiro held the record for the highest level ever achieved on it(he had gotten to Level 26 out of thirty possible), and it wasn’t uncommon to have people trying their hand at beating his record, usually with a large group of their friends cheering them on. Nobody ever did. It was something of an urban legend to the incoming cadet classes. Try and beat Shirogane’s record. But the closest anybody had ever come was Level 20, and even that had taken weeks and weeks of attempts and fails. Most cadets averaged around Level 10 when they first arrived and Level 18 when they graduated. It was still very good, considering the average civilian couldn’t even make it past Level 5. Shiro was just something of an outlier. From an outsider’s perspective, it was easy to see why many revered him as the best pilot of their generation. 

Truth be told, Shiro found the noise of the cheers a bit annoying. Flight training was always pretty exhausting, and all he wanted to do afterwards was to go back to his dorm and rest for a bit before hurrying off to his astrophysics class. But, as he grimly realized, the only way out of the training building(at least one that was accessible to him) was through the hallway that was currently blocked by the hoarde of people. There seemed to be even more than usual today, which wasn’t exactly helpful considering the only way out was through. 

He set his jaw, hefted his training bag, and began to walk towards the crowd. Now, most of the time when Shiro walked someplace, everyone he passed would turn to look at him for a moment in awe. As if he were a god walking among them, and not a mere mortal who had an affinity for piloting. Shiro didn’t revel in it, however. In fact, he rather disliked it. It wasn’t especially helpful for people to constantly be looking at him wherever he went. It made him feel as though he were some animal in a zoo, something nice to look at, but not attainable. 

So when nobody even spared him a glance as he shoved past the people in the hall, it took him a little by surprise. Not an unwelcome surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. Still, he didn’t have time to stand around contemplating why nobody was giving him his usual attention. 

It was only after he heard the simulator speak in its robotic voice that he stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Level 24 cleared,” it spoke, “Prepping Level 25…”

Ferocious cheering could be heard from inside and outside the flight simulator, but Shiro stopped dead in his tracks, slowly turning around at what he had just heard. Did it just say...Level 24? No one(besides him) had ever gotten that far. Many people had given up on trying simply because they knew they would never do it, no matter how hard they tried. 

Despite himself, Shiro felt a surge of competitive spirit rise up within his heart. Before, he had never cared that he had broken the record. Sure, it was something to be proud of, but he never thought he’d be upset or anything if someone did end up breaking it. But here, now...he knew he had to find out who had done it. 

He surged forward and squeezed past as many people as he possibly could, through the people who were standing outside and into the flight simulator room. 

It was a lot hotter in the room, probably because of how many people were packed into it. It was  _ quite  _ uncomfortable to stand smushed in between a mass of sweaty bodies, but it was worth it to see who had taken up the challenge. 

It was a boy, a fellow cadet judging by his orange uniform, but Shiro knew for a fact he hadn’t seen him around before. Perhaps he was a transfer from one of the other Galaxy Garrison facilities. 

He had honey-brown hair that he had to periodically toss back out of his eyes, small oval glasses, and tan sunkissed skin. He was a bit leaner than Shiro, who had built up muscle from many a night spent training, but still filled out his uniform quite nicely. 

The boy looked as if he was practically cruising through the simulator. With what seemed like practiced ease, he navigated around every obstacle, adjusted speed and altitude accordingly, managed to fire his weapon, and always accounted for wind in his adjustments. But Shiro knew that it was not the case. The boy was actually straining to be able to keep going, judging by the sweat beads running down his neck and the very faint tremor in his hands. 

Shiro’s eyes flickered from the newcomer’s face and onto the screen. It was nearing the end of the level; he could tell because of the rather large enemy plane that was coming his way. His gaze went back to the boy and by then his face had contorted into one of complete and utter concentration. Without a shadow of hesitation, he charged it and performed a complex aerial move that had the crowd roaring with appreciation. Not long after, the enemy ship lay smoking on the ground, and red text flashed across the screen. 

“Level 25 completed,” the robotic voice said once again, “Prepping Level 26.”

This was it. If this kid beat the next level, he’d be on par with Shiro’s record. If he managed to beat Level 27...he’d be the new flight simulation record-holder. 

Shiro could only watch, completely enraptured along witht the people squashed around him, as the boy fired shot after shot and avoided anything the enemy planes managed to throw at him. Simultaenously, he was adjusting the flight controls so the altitude nor speed would affect the way he hit his targets. It was genius piloting, even Shiro had to admit it to himself. 

The boy beat Level 26 without much fuss, although Shiro noticed that his shoulders and jaw had become extremely tense. Shiro also found that it was almost impossible to keep his eyes off the boy’s face, watching every little movement and twitch with great interest. 

And then it was Level 27. The fated level, the one that would determine whether or not he kept his place as flight simulation record-holder. By then, several people around him had noticed that the current record holder was standing amongst them and had taken to whispering very obviously about him. He wasn’t bothered. All he cared about was seeing if this boy could truly do it. 

“3...2...1...Begin!” the robotic voice said and the boy was off. 

It didn’t take long for things to pick up speed. The enemy ships were firing at him at an almost unrealistic rate, but the boy managed to avoid every major shot that was fired at him. His hands flew over the controls so fast they almost blurred, and everyone in the room was quiet. Just waiting for something bad to happen. Just waiting for the deadly shot. 

It never came. Shiro knew that the boy was close to the end of the level and if he just held out a couple more minutes, he’d make it. Everyone, including himself, was on edge now. Just one wrong move could spell the end for this boy’s winning streak and Shiro would remain on top. 

But throughout every close call, throughout every near miss, the boy held on. And when the words reading ‘ _ LEVEL 27 CLEARED. NEW RECORD _ ’ flashed in red on the screen, the room erupted into chaos only worthy of such a groundbreaking achievement. The crowd around him was cheering and whistling, jumping onto each other and laughing with joy as if they were the ones who had just broken the record. The screen that showed the record-holders appeared on the screen, with the current standings now being: 

  * __ADAM W.__


  * _TAKASHI SHIROGANE_


  * _MOIRA CHENG_


  * _RIDDHI PATEL_


  * _ELI DAVIDSON_



Strangely, Shiro was not mad or upset. In fact, he felt a sense of calm wash over him and even a bit of pride. Someone had finally done it and it made him feel oddly joyful. 

The new record-holder, throughout all of the cheering, was sitting very still in the pilot’s chair. His hands were clutched against his chest, as if he couldn’t believe what those same hands had just done. His eyes were wide and shining and staring at the screen; his cheeks were flushed red from the exertion. He seemed not to be breathing. 

And in that moment, Shiro was certain he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. 

“Hey!” Somebody shouted from behind him, shattering the moment, “Shirogane’s here! He’s gonna be fucking pissed!”

The crowd howled with laughter at the kid’s joke, but the boy he now knew to be Adam W. stiffened and slowly turned his head towards Shiro, eyes widened even more than seemed possible. It seemed to be the first time he realized Shiro was even watching him. 

Shiro felt himself go red, but even through his embarrassment, he still had a reputation to uphold. He squared his shoulders and held out a hand for the boy to shake. 

“You deserve the top spot. Congratulations.” he said with a smile. 

Shiro meant it. He was not one to throw a hissy fit just because someone beat him in something. It simply meant that person was better at whatever they had defeated him at, and he needed to work harder. 

Adam W. slowly rose from his seat and descended the platform steps until he was level with Shiro. He was slightly shorter than him, so he had to look up a bit in order to make eye contact. His eyes were quite beautiful. 

Then slowly, but with purpose, he took Shiro’s hand and shook it. His grip was surprisingly firm. 

“Thank you, Shirogane. It means a lot to hear coming from you.” Adam W. replied, his voice a bit soft, but still managing to carry across the now-silent room. 

Shiro nodded, releasing his grip and letting his hand fall back to his side. “I look forward to training with such a talented pilot,” he said, his smile growing just the tiniest bit bigger, “Er, Adam, right?” 

Adam W. nodded, a smile of his own beginning to show on his face. “Yes. And I look forward to training with you too. I’m sure it’ll be a good experience.” 

And with that, Adam W. quickly strode past him, through the stunned onlookers who had been expecting a row, and out the door. 

Shiro simply gazed after him for a moment, caught up in what had just transpired. A beautiful boy, a broken record, a soft smile, and a name. 

Adam W., Adam W., Adam W. 

It was the same name he’d repeat when asking him out eight months later. 

It was the same name he’d say when reciting his marriage vows.

It was the same name he’d whisper reverently when holding his first child in his arms

It was the only name, the only  _ person,  _ he’d ever love in that way. 

Adam and Takashi, Takashi and Adam. 

Just the two of them forever, to the ends of the Earth and the edges of the galaxy. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> leave comments if you enjoyed!!


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